Linvoy Primus
Encyclopedia
Linvoy Stephen Primus is an English
former footballer.
Born in Forest Gate
, England, to Caribbean
-born parents, Primus began his professional career at Charlton Athletic
; where he made four league appearances. Primus moved on a free transfer to Barnet
and established himself as a first team regular in the lower divisions of English football before earning a £250,000 transfer to Reading
.
A Bosman transfer
to Portsmouth followed after three successful seasons at the Berkshire
-based club. Initially, Primus struggled to break into the team and had his progress hindered by injuries but the 2002–03 season signalled a change in direction as Primus broke into the first team and won Portsmouth fan's player of the season as well as the PFA Fans' Player of the Year
for his division. For the next three seasons Primus was in and out of the first team and worked under three different managers: Harry Redknapp
, Velimir Zajec
and Alain Perrin. The 2006–07 season was the last injury-free season for Primus as a career threatening knee injury meant he would not make a single appearance the following season. Primus went out on loan to former club Charlton and made 10 appearances and one further appearance for Portsmouth before retiring through injury in December 2009. The Milton End stand at Fratton Park
was renamed the 'Linvoy Primus Community Stand' because of his outstanding services to the club.
Primus, who is married and has three children, is also known for his Christian charity work. He is involved in the Christian charity 'Faith & Football' and walked the Great Wall of China
to raise £100,000 for their cause. Other charitable causes he has been involved in are the Alpha course
, a cinema advertisement about Christianity and the formation of a prayer group at Portsmouth. In 2007, he released his autobiography
, titled "Transformed", which details his conversion to Christianity
.
, Greater London
on 14 September 1973. His Jamaica
n-born mother worked as an orderly at Whipps Cross Hospital in nearby Leytonstone
. Primus' father, who was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
, worked for Thames Water as an engineer. His parents are both practising Christians and took Linvoy to church and Sunday school when he was young. In his autobiography he wrote that church was "a cold unwelcoming place" for him as a child but also that it "instilled in [him] a very strong sense of right and wrong". Primus attributed his desire to become a footballer from watching Ricky Villa
's winning goal for Tottenham Hotspur
against Manchester City
in the 1981 FA Cup Final Replay. He played his first game of football two years later in a match between two Cub Scout
groups and, because of his performance, he was offered a trial with the Newham District Schools under-11's by one of the Cub Scout leaders who was also the manager of the Newham team. Primus played as a striker or right winger at this time, also in the team was future Portsmouth team mate Sol Campbell
who played in midfield
.
club, Pretoria, based in Canning Town
after being introduced by a school friend. Charlton Athletic
arranged a friendly match with Pretoria and Primus was offered the chance to join the Charlton associate schoolboys which he took. For the last two years of his school life, Primus travelled to Greenwich
twice a week to train with the team, in addition to this he played matches on a Sunday against the schoolboy teams of clubs such as Maidstone United
and Dover Athletic
. Primus initially struggled to cope; he cited the "dog eat dog" nature and the "ambitious and aggressive" parents as factors but nevertheless he decided to see it through later remarking that it was a "very strong character building experience".
, where he achieved three A grades, Primus signed a two-year apprenticeship with Charlton. At this time he also received an offer from West Ham United
, who were in a higher division, but he rejected this because he felt his first team opportunities would be greater at Charlton. Primus was playing in various positions until the club's youth team coach, Colin Clarke
, decided that he should play as a centre back, "I see you as a centre back, that way you can see everything you want in front of you".
Under the Youth Training Scheme
, Primus was earning £35 a week while training with the youth
and reserve
teams as well as having cleaning duties. He also had to study Leisure Management at a nearby college which he disliked. Primus, along with Jermaine Darlington
, was chosen to travel to Charlton's temporary stadium Selhurst Park
to lay out the kits and the boots for the senior players and he admitted this may have earned him "Brownie points
" with the youth management. Primus began playing in the reserves under manager Alan Curbishley
and at the end of his apprenticeship, Primus was offered a one-year professional contract by the new youth team coach John Cartwright
. Darlington was the only other apprentice who was offered a contract.
Due to injuries to first team centre backs Simon Webster
and Darren Pitcher
, Primus made his professional debut against Birmingham City
. The match took place at their substitute stadium Upton Park
in November 1992 and Primus was awarded man of the match
for his performance. Primus played the next two matches against Leicester City
and Brentford
but was disappointed with his performance in both matches. Primus made two further first team appearances in the 1992–93 season but soon found himself lower down in the pecking order after other players returned from injury and Primus himself got injured. Primus felt that he had to leave the club: "I really felt as though I wasn't wanted and that my days were numbered." Despite this, he signed a one-year extension with the Greenwich-based club. However, he suffered another muscle injury, and with further competition for places in the form of Dean Chandler
and Richard Rufus
, he failed to make a single appearance for Charlton in the 1993–94 season and was released at the end of it.
before accepting one with Cardiff City
. Just three days before his trial with Cardiff was set to begin Ray Clemence
, the Barnet
manager, offered Primus a two-year contract with the club. It was later revealed that Clemence was told by his assistant, Terry Harvey, that he should sign him immediately: "Get in now and sign him, if he goes down to Cardiff and sees their stadium he will sign for them." Primus was determined to prove Charlton wrong and says he "grew from a boy to a man" at Barnet. This was also a time when depression
was common for Primus and he became addicted to alcohol
and drugs such as ecstasy and LSD.
In the second game of the 1994–95 season against Leyton Orient
, Primus made his debut as a substitute coming on for the injured Mark Newson
. His next appearance for Barnet, against Scarborough
, was described as the "worst performance of [his] career" in his autobiography. He went on to say that he was "weighed down by the burden of expectation" and heard someone say he was the "worst player we've ever had at Barnet". He was often nervous before matches and recited the Lord's Prayer
as a way of coping with his anxiety
. At the end of the season, Primus was runner-up in the voting for the Player of the Season and was man of the match on several occasions. Barnet had a poor start to the next season and they were at the bottom of the table in mid-September. After beating Northampton Town
2–0, Barnet went on an 11-game winning streak which ended at Colchester United
despite Primus scoring a goal. He would go on to score five goals in the season; more than any other season in his career. Once again, he was runner-up in the Player of the Season award; this time to the goalkeeper Maik Taylor
.
His third season for the club was an unsettled one. The club went through three different managers after the departure of Clemence: Terry Bullivant
(twice), Terry Gibson
and Alan Mullery
. Nevertheless, Barnet narrowly avoided relegation
to the Conference
and Primus was awarded the Player of the Season and given the captaincy after a season which saw him make 46 league appearances. After Bullivant left for Reading
, however, Primus became unsettled and said "[I was] hankering after a move to join Terry [Bullivant] and Pards [Alan Pardew] at Reading".
in defence but Reading started the season poorly with just one point from the first six games despite Primus saying "I played well from the word go". Due to an injury crisis, Reading lost their penultimate league match with Nottingham Forest and were relegated from Division One
. This was Primus' first experience of relegation.
In the next season
, Reading finished 10th and faced strong competition from new signing Elroy Kromheer, but Primus became disillusioned at the financial situation he was in. He was on £1,500 a week and commented "[new signings were] on twice the wages I was being paid and I had seen the lifestyles they were enjoying". Primus was promised an improved contract, however no such contract was given to him over the summer. By popular demand, manager Tommy Burns was replaced by Alan Pardew
. Fitness problems prevented Primus from getting much first team football at the start of the 1999–2000 season until a change of diet helped him regain stamina. As the season progressed, the club offered Primus a new contract which he dismissed as "derisory" saying the club was "taking advantage of [his] good nature".
At the end of the season, Primus was free to leave under the Bosman ruling
and received an offer from Luton Town
which he accepted. Lennie Lawrence
, the manager who bidded for Primus was sacked soon afterwards, however, and the deal was cancelled to the dismay of Primus who said he felt as if "[his] whole world had collapsed". In the aftermath, Pardew put him in contact with Portsmouth
manager Tony Pulis
and a trial was agreed.
and Exeter City
, Primus signed a contract with Portsmouth although he was disappointed with the low wages in comparison to other players. He did not get his Portsmouth career off to a good start, scoring an own goal
on his debut away at Sheffield United. Pulis was sacked early on in the 2000–01 season after a poor start and was replaced by fans' favourite Steve Claridge
. Portsmouth were still near the relegation zone after a poor run of form that also saw Primus being sent off
for the first time in his career for a foul on Fulham
's Louis Saha
. Gilmore's groin
ruled him out of action for five months from November of that season, during which Claridge was replaced by Graham Rix
, this was after Primus formed a partnership with Jamaican international Darren Moore. After a defeat to Crystal Palace
(which Primus described as the "lowest point of [his] career"), Portsmouth needed a victory over Barnsley
to stay in Division One and they duly won 3–0 with Huddersfield being relegated after their final day defeat. After the conclusion of the season, Primus fell out with Rix as he was unsure about whether Rix thought he had a future at the club.
The next season started with the death of goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan
and the departure of Primus' close friend Moore to West Bromwich Albion
. Primus struggled to get a game under Rix but the appointment of Harry Redknapp
in March 2002 gave him a new lease of life and he ended that season with two league goals in games against Bradford City
and Barnsley.
Despite originally being told by Redknapp he was not of Division One
standard, let alone suitable for the Premier League, Primus proved his manager wrong by seizing his chance when other players missed out through injury and suspension. By the end of the 2002–03 season
he had become a vital member of the side that won the Division One title, winning the Portsmouth fans' player of the season as well as the PFA
accolade for Division One. He scored once that season for Portsmouth in the League Cup against Peterborough United
. Primus credits his renaissance to his conversion to Christianity
after a friend of his wife's invited him to church.
Despite the previous season's heroics, Primus was not used regularly in the early part of Portsmouth's first Premier League season. Harry Redknapp had ditched his 3–5–2 formation in favour of the more conventional 4–4–2 and partnered new record signing Dejan Stefanović
with Arjan de Zeeuw
. During December, Portsmouth were in a terrible run of form and Redknapp decided to bring one of his most reliable players back into his plans for the derby match with Southampton
. In spite of a 3–0 loss, Primus retained his starting place for the remainder of the season.
The following season saw Primus remain a regular member of the Portsmouth team under first Redknapp and then both his successors, Velimir Zajec
and Alain Perrin. He scored his first Premier League goal at Crystal Palace on Boxing Day
2004. He scored again on Boxing Day in 2006, when grabbing two headed goals against West Ham United.
Although Primus was a regular member of Perrin's team at the end of the 2004–05 season
and captained the side on occasions during pre-season, he rarely featured until Perrin's sacking in November. The return of Harry Redknapp
, who had been won over by his performances and was now one of his biggest admirers, to Portsmouth lead to Primus' immediate return to the side, and he was ever present in the side that achieved Premiership survival in the last 10 games of the season. Primus remained a regular in the Portsmouth defence for the 2006–07 season, partnering England international Sol Campbell
in the centre of defence, and Redknapp hailed him as the unofficial Player of the Season; the official winner of the award was David James
. He failed to make an appearance in 2007–08 due to a career threatening knee
injury. He was treated with surgery performed by Dr. Richard Steadman
who is known to have saved the careers of many Premiership footballers, including Alan Shearer
and Ronaldo
. After the operation, Primus commented "The difference between success and failure is what you do afterwards in your rehabilitation, not necessarily the actual operation." Despite his injury, he still managed to earn a new one-year deal at Portsmouth in May 2008.
on a loan deal, however the deal almost collapsed as negotiations broke down between Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp
and Charlton manager Alan Pardew. Pardew wanted the centre half for the whole of the 2008–09 season
, but Redknapp was only happy to loan him out until Christmas of 2008 in order to gain match fitness, and it appeared the deal would be called off by Portsmouth. Finally Charlton agreed to the terms and Primus move to the Valley on a three month loan days before the transfer window closed. He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 5–2 home defeat to Sheffield United. The result ultimately led to the sacking of manager Alan Pardew. He played 10 matches for the Championship
(new name for Division One) club before returning to Portsmouth for the rest of the 2008–09 season. He was due to play in a crucial match against Derby County
, however the match was postponed by Sky
until after the expiration of his loan; much to the anger of Charlton. Primus' loan had to be rearranged and a deal was agreed by both clubs for the loan to expire after the match against Derby.
After a near two year absence, Primus made a comeback to the Portsmouth first team on 18 May 2009, the penultimate game of the 2008–09 season, as a late substitute appearance against Sunderland
at Fratton Park. He received a standing ovation from the home crowd and was cheered each time he touched the ball.
Primus signed a one-year extension to his contract with Portsmouth in July 2009. Primus also agreed to take on an ambassadorial and advisory role to help guide emerging talent at Portsmouth, as well as a playing role. On 8 December 2009, Primus announced his retirement due to a knee injury. Portsmouth's chief executive Peter Storrie
confirmed that Primus would retain his ambassadorial role.
Following his testimonial
on 31 July 2010, Portsmouth announced that the Milton End Stand at Fratton Park
would be renamed the 'Linvoy Primus Community Stand' because of his outstanding services to the club.
In 2007, he released his autobiography, "Transformed", which was co-written by Peter Jeffs. The book received generally positive reviews: Christianity Magazine
said the book was a "disarmingly honest account of Primus’s triumphs and struggles on and off the pitch" while FourFourTwo
described it as "an antidote to the 'me-me-me' tales that weigh down the shelves" but rival football magazine When Saturday Comes
was more critical, pointing out its "sometimes ungrammatical and often ponderous style" and going on to say "[the] book is also full of cliches".
and was introduced to Christianity
by stable owners, Keith and Sam, who invited the Primus family to join them at church on a Sunday. Initially, Primus was reluctant but Trish convinced him to accept and Primus remarked that it was a case of "well church is the last place we'd go, but why not?" The church was more "laid-back" in comparison to the one that Primus attended as a child and he, along with the rest of his family, became regular churchgoers in 2001. Trish's depression was lifted and Primus converted to Christianity
later that year, "In my heart I felt whole and complete, and I wanted to read the Bible at every opportunity." According to his autobiography, Primus is able to speak in tongues
.
Primus, along with Darren Moore, former footballer Mick Mellows
,and Portsmouth FC star Joel Ward is involved with the Christian charity 'Faith and Football, and walked the Great Wall of China
in summer 2005 to raise £100,000 for Prospect Children’s School in Ibaden, Nigeria
and a new medical centre, school and orphanage for a village in Goa
. He was also involved in supporting the Alpha Course
, which is run all over the world, and are designed to explain Christian beliefs and promote discussion. Primus appeared in a cinema advertisement for the movement, alongside the comedian Lennie Bennett
. At his former club Portsmouth, he founded a prayer group which has included many Premiership footballers such as Nwankwo Kanu
, Sean Davis and Benjani
. In December 2006, he took part in a Football Focus
feature on faith in the game presented by fellow Christian footballer Gavin Peacock
.
|1992–93
||rowspan="2"|Charlton Athletic
||rowspan="2"|First Division
||4||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0
|-
|1993–94
||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-
|-
|1994–95
||rowspan="3"|Barnet
||rowspan="3"|Third Division
||39||0||2||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||45||0
|-
|1995–96
||42||4||2||1||4||0||colspan="2"|-||48||5
|-
|1996–97
||46||3||1||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||51||3
|-
|1997–98
||rowspan="3"|Reading
||First Division
||35||1||1||0||6||0||colspan="2"|-||42||1
|-
|1998–99
||rowspan="2"|Second Division
||31||0||1||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||35||0
|-
|1999–2000
||28||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||32||0
|-
|2000–01
||rowspan="9"|Portsmouth
||rowspan="3"|First Division
||23||0||colspan="2"|-||3||0||colspan="2"|-||26||0
|-
|2001–02
||22||2||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||23||2
|-
|2002–03
||40||0||1||0||2||1||colspan="2"|-||43||1
|-
|2003–04
||rowspan="6"|Premier League||21||0||4||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||26||0
|-
|2004–05
||35||1||2||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||40||1
|-
|2005–06
||20||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||21||0
|-
|2006–07
||36||2||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||39||2
|-
|2007–08||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-
|-
|2008–09||1||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0
|-
|2008–09
||rowspan="1"|Charlton Athletic
||rowspan="1"|Championship
||10||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||10||1
|-
432||14||22||1||32||1||colspan="2"|-||486||16
432||14||22||1||32||1||colspan="2"|-||486||16
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former footballer.
Born in Forest Gate
Forest Gate
Forest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham, 7 miles northeast of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Manor Park to the east and and to the west lies Stratford town centre. The northern half of the busy Green Street runs through it.-History:...
, England, to Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
-born parents, Primus began his professional career at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
; where he made four league appearances. Primus moved on a free transfer to Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
and established himself as a first team regular in the lower divisions of English football before earning a £250,000 transfer to Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
.
A Bosman transfer
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
to Portsmouth followed after three successful seasons at the Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
-based club. Initially, Primus struggled to break into the team and had his progress hindered by injuries but the 2002–03 season signalled a change in direction as Primus broke into the first team and won Portsmouth fan's player of the season as well as the PFA Fans' Player of the Year
PFA Fans' Player of the Year
The ESPN Professional Footballers' Association Fans' Player of the Year award is given to footballers in the top four flights of English football, the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two.The shortlist is compiled by the members of the Professional Footballers'...
for his division. For the next three seasons Primus was in and out of the first team and worked under three different managers: Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
, Velimir Zajec
Velimir Zajec
Velimir Zajec is a former Croatian footballer and manager.-Career:Zajec began his career at Dinamo Zagreb in 1974, aged 18. During 10 years at the club, he helped them to two domestic cup wins, as well as the league title, their first title honour in 24 years...
and Alain Perrin. The 2006–07 season was the last injury-free season for Primus as a career threatening knee injury meant he would not make a single appearance the following season. Primus went out on loan to former club Charlton and made 10 appearances and one further appearance for Portsmouth before retiring through injury in December 2009. The Milton End stand at Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...
was renamed the 'Linvoy Primus Community Stand' because of his outstanding services to the club.
Primus, who is married and has three children, is also known for his Christian charity work. He is involved in the Christian charity 'Faith & Football' and walked the Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
to raise £100,000 for their cause. Other charitable causes he has been involved in are the Alpha course
Alpha course
The Alpha course is a course which seeks to explore the basics of the Christian faith, described as "an opportunity to explore the meaning of life" . Alpha courses are currently being run in churches, homes, workplaces, prisons, universities and a wide variety of other locations...
, a cinema advertisement about Christianity and the formation of a prayer group at Portsmouth. In 2007, he released his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, titled "Transformed", which details his conversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. It has been called the foundational experience of Christian life...
.
Early life
Primus was born the first child of Newton and Pauline Primus in Forest Gate Hospital, Forest GateForest Gate
Forest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham, 7 miles northeast of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Manor Park to the east and and to the west lies Stratford town centre. The northern half of the busy Green Street runs through it.-History:...
, Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
on 14 September 1973. His Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n-born mother worked as an orderly at Whipps Cross Hospital in nearby Leytonstone
Leytonstone
Leytonstone is an area of east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a high density suburban area, located seven miles north east of Charing Cross in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the historic county of Essex...
. Primus' father, who was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
, worked for Thames Water as an engineer. His parents are both practising Christians and took Linvoy to church and Sunday school when he was young. In his autobiography he wrote that church was "a cold unwelcoming place" for him as a child but also that it "instilled in [him] a very strong sense of right and wrong". Primus attributed his desire to become a footballer from watching Ricky Villa
Ricardo Villa
Ricardo Julio "Ricky" Villa is an Argentine football coach and former professional midfielder.-Career:He played successively for Quilmes, Club Atlético Tucumán and Racing Club...
's winning goal for Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
against Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
in the 1981 FA Cup Final Replay. He played his first game of football two years later in a match between two Cub Scout
Cub Scout
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The movement is often referred to simply as Cubbing...
groups and, because of his performance, he was offered a trial with the Newham District Schools under-11's by one of the Cub Scout leaders who was also the manager of the Newham team. Primus played as a striker or right winger at this time, also in the team was future Portsmouth team mate Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
who played in midfield
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
.
Early career
In Primus' early teenage years he played for his local Sunday league footballSunday league football
Sunday league football is a term used in the United Kingdom to describe those association football leagues which play on Sunday, as opposed to the more usual Saturday. These leagues tend to be lower standard amateur competitions, whose players may have less ability, or less time to devote to...
club, Pretoria, based in Canning Town
Canning Town
Canning Town is an area of east London, England. It is part of the London Borough of Newham and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the River Thames. It is the location of Rathbone Market...
after being introduced by a school friend. Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
arranged a friendly match with Pretoria and Primus was offered the chance to join the Charlton associate schoolboys which he took. For the last two years of his school life, Primus travelled to Greenwich
London Borough of Greenwich
The London Borough of Greenwich is an Inner London borough in south-east London, England. Taking its name from the historic town of Greenwich, the present borough was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich with part of the Metropolitan...
twice a week to train with the team, in addition to this he played matches on a Sunday against the schoolboy teams of clubs such as Maidstone United
Maidstone United F.C.
Maidstone United Football Club is an English football team from Maidstone, Kent.The current club is a continuation of the old Maidstone United, which was a member of the Football League between 1989 and 1992. The club was forced out of the league by financial ruin but the youth squad formed the...
and Dover Athletic
Dover Athletic F.C.
Dover Athletic Football Club is an association football team based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club was formed in 1983 after the dissolution of the town's previous club, Dover, whose place in the Southern League was taken by the new club...
. Primus initially struggled to cope; he cited the "dog eat dog" nature and the "ambitious and aggressive" parents as factors but nevertheless he decided to see it through later remarking that it was a "very strong character building experience".
Charlton Athletic
After finishing his GCSEsGeneral Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
, where he achieved three A grades, Primus signed a two-year apprenticeship with Charlton. At this time he also received an offer from West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
, who were in a higher division, but he rejected this because he felt his first team opportunities would be greater at Charlton. Primus was playing in various positions until the club's youth team coach, Colin Clarke
Colin Clarke (Scottish footballer)
Colin Clarke is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. Clarke, who played as a central defender, spent the majority of his career in England – minus a one season stint in the North American Soccer League – and made nearly 500 career league appearances.-Career:Born...
, decided that he should play as a centre back, "I see you as a centre back, that way you can see everything you want in front of you".
Under the Youth Training Scheme
Youth Training Scheme
The Youth Training Scheme was the former name in the United Kingdom of an on-the-job training course for school leavers aged 16 and 17, managed by the Manpower Services Commission...
, Primus was earning £35 a week while training with the youth
Youth system
Youth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...
and reserve
Reserve team
Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...
teams as well as having cleaning duties. He also had to study Leisure Management at a nearby college which he disliked. Primus, along with Jermaine Darlington
Jermaine Darlington
Jermaine Mortimer Darlington is an English football player who plays for Whitstable Town as a left-sided midfielder or full-back.-Career:...
, was chosen to travel to Charlton's temporary stadium Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is an English football stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon. It is the current home ground of Crystal Palace Football Club. Its present capacity is 26,309.-History:...
to lay out the kits and the boots for the senior players and he admitted this may have earned him "Brownie points
Brownie points
Brownie points in modern usage are a hypothetical social currency, which can be accrued by doing good deeds or earning favor in the eyes of another, often one's superior.-Brown Stamps:...
" with the youth management. Primus began playing in the reserves under manager Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....
and at the end of his apprenticeship, Primus was offered a one-year professional contract by the new youth team coach John Cartwright
John Cartwright (footballer)
John Cartwright is an English former professional footballer who played as an inside forward.-Career:Born in Brixworth, Cartwright began his career with his the youth team of West Ham United, appearing in the Final of the 1956–57 FA Youth Cup...
. Darlington was the only other apprentice who was offered a contract.
Due to injuries to first team centre backs Simon Webster
Simon Webster (footballer)
Simon Paul Webster is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender in the Football League for Tottenham Hotspur, Exeter City, Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic, West Ham United, Oldham Athletic and Derby County...
and Darren Pitcher
Darren Pitcher
Darren Pitcher is a retired English footballer, who played for Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace and Leyton Orient . Pitcher started his career as a right full back at Charlton, but then converted to an effective defensive midfielder.His career was ended at Crystal Palace in a match against...
, Primus made his professional debut against Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
. The match took place at their substitute stadium Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
in November 1992 and Primus was awarded man of the match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
for his performance. Primus played the next two matches against Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
and Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
but was disappointed with his performance in both matches. Primus made two further first team appearances in the 1992–93 season but soon found himself lower down in the pecking order after other players returned from injury and Primus himself got injured. Primus felt that he had to leave the club: "I really felt as though I wasn't wanted and that my days were numbered." Despite this, he signed a one-year extension with the Greenwich-based club. However, he suffered another muscle injury, and with further competition for places in the form of Dean Chandler
Dean Chandler
Dean Andrew Robert Chandler is an English former professional footballer. He currently plays for Redbridge and has represented England's Learning Disability team....
and Richard Rufus
Richard Rufus
Richard Raymond Rufus is a former English football player, who spent his entire career at Charlton Athletic.Born in nearby Lewisham, Rufus progressed through the youth system at The Valley, making his debut for the club as a teenager in 1994 at the age of 19...
, he failed to make a single appearance for Charlton in the 1993–94 season and was released at the end of it.
Barnet
Primus first rejected a trial with Crewe AlexandraCrewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
before accepting one with Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
. Just three days before his trial with Cardiff was set to begin Ray Clemence
Ray Clemence
Raymond Neal "Ray" Clemence, MBE is one of English and European football's most decorated goalkeepers ever and was part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s.-Scunthorpe United:...
, the Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
manager, offered Primus a two-year contract with the club. It was later revealed that Clemence was told by his assistant, Terry Harvey, that he should sign him immediately: "Get in now and sign him, if he goes down to Cardiff and sees their stadium he will sign for them." Primus was determined to prove Charlton wrong and says he "grew from a boy to a man" at Barnet. This was also a time when depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
was common for Primus and he became addicted to alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
and drugs such as ecstasy and LSD.
In the second game of the 1994–95 season against Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
, Primus made his debut as a substitute coming on for the injured Mark Newson
Mark Newson
Mark Newson is an English former professional footballer.In summer 1982 Newson played in Finland.In 1995, Newson joined Tottenham Hotspur on loan, solely to play in their Inter-Toto Cup ties....
. His next appearance for Barnet, against Scarborough
Scarborough F.C.
Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...
, was described as the "worst performance of [his] career" in his autobiography. He went on to say that he was "weighed down by the burden of expectation" and heard someone say he was the "worst player we've ever had at Barnet". He was often nervous before matches and recited the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
as a way of coping with his anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
. At the end of the season, Primus was runner-up in the voting for the Player of the Season and was man of the match on several occasions. Barnet had a poor start to the next season and they were at the bottom of the table in mid-September. After beating Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
2–0, Barnet went on an 11-game winning streak which ended at Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
despite Primus scoring a goal. He would go on to score five goals in the season; more than any other season in his career. Once again, he was runner-up in the Player of the Season award; this time to the goalkeeper Maik Taylor
Maik Taylor
Maik Stefan Taylor is a professional footballer who plays for Leeds United and is a former Northern Ireland international....
.
His third season for the club was an unsettled one. The club went through three different managers after the departure of Clemence: Terry Bullivant
Terry Bullivant
Terry Bullivant is an English football coachBullivant was a midfielder during his playing days, signed as an apprentice in May 1974 to Fulham FC and transferred to Aston Villa FC for £220,000 in November 1979....
(twice), Terry Gibson
Terry Gibson
Terence Bradley "Terry" Gibson is an English former footballer who played as a forward for several clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Coventry City, Manchester United and Wimbledon.-Playing career:...
and Alan Mullery
Alan Mullery
Alan Patrick Mullery MBE is a former English football player and manager. After enjoying a successful career with Fulham and in the 1960s and 1970s, he became a manager working with several different clubs. He is now employed as a television pundit...
. Nevertheless, Barnet narrowly avoided relegation
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
to the Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
and Primus was awarded the Player of the Season and given the captaincy after a season which saw him make 46 league appearances. After Bullivant left for Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
, however, Primus became unsettled and said "[I was] hankering after a move to join Terry [Bullivant] and Pards [Alan Pardew] at Reading".
Reading
Primus was signed for £500,000 at the start of the 1997–98 season although he found himself being sued by the Stellar Sports Agency after the £8,000 fee was not paid because of difficulties with Primus' agent. Also joining him in Berkshire was Barnet team mate Lee Hodges. Primus partnered Keith McPhersonKeith McPherson
Keith McPherson is an English former footballer who played for Northampton Town and Reading amongst other clubs.-Career:...
in defence but Reading started the season poorly with just one point from the first six games despite Primus saying "I played well from the word go". Due to an injury crisis, Reading lost their penultimate league match with Nottingham Forest and were relegated from Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
. This was Primus' first experience of relegation.
In the next season
1998-99 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
, Reading finished 10th and faced strong competition from new signing Elroy Kromheer, but Primus became disillusioned at the financial situation he was in. He was on £1,500 a week and commented "[new signings were] on twice the wages I was being paid and I had seen the lifestyles they were enjoying". Primus was promised an improved contract, however no such contract was given to him over the summer. By popular demand, manager Tommy Burns was replaced by Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew
Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....
. Fitness problems prevented Primus from getting much first team football at the start of the 1999–2000 season until a change of diet helped him regain stamina. As the season progressed, the club offered Primus a new contract which he dismissed as "derisory" saying the club was "taking advantage of [his] good nature".
At the end of the season, Primus was free to leave under the Bosman ruling
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
and received an offer from Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
which he accepted. Lennie Lawrence
Lennie Lawrence
Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, is a British football manager who is assistant manager of Crystal Palace. He has managed a number of English clubs and one Welsh club in a coaching career spanning over 30 years...
, the manager who bidded for Primus was sacked soon afterwards, however, and the deal was cancelled to the dismay of Primus who said he felt as if "[his] whole world had collapsed". In the aftermath, Pardew put him in contact with Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
manager Tony Pulis
Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard "Tony" Pulis is a Welsh former football player and is currently the manager of Stoke City. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at the age of 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one of the youngest professional players ever to have obtained the qualification...
and a trial was agreed.
Portsmouth
After friendly matches with Dorchester TownDorchester Town F.C.
Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and currently playing in the Blue Square Bet South...
and Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
, Primus signed a contract with Portsmouth although he was disappointed with the low wages in comparison to other players. He did not get his Portsmouth career off to a good start, scoring an own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
on his debut away at Sheffield United. Pulis was sacked early on in the 2000–01 season after a poor start and was replaced by fans' favourite Steve Claridge
Steve Claridge
Stephen Edward Claridge is an English football player, pundit and coach. He is currently a pundit for BBC Sport football shows including Football Focus and the The Football League Show, whilst also playing as a striker for semi-professional team Gosport Borough.Claridge's career is known for its...
. Portsmouth were still near the relegation zone after a poor run of form that also saw Primus being sent off
Ejection (sports)
In sports, an ejection is one of several disqualifying actions assessed to a player or coach by a game official , usually for unsportsmanlike conduct....
for the first time in his career for a foul on Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
's Louis Saha
Louis Saha
Louis Laurent Saha is a French footballer of Guadelupian origin who currently plays as a forward for Everton FC in the Premier League and the France national team. A former scholar at the Clairefontaine football academy, he started his career at Metz before playing on loan at Newcastle United...
. Gilmore's groin
Gilmore's groin
Athletic pubalgia, also called the sportman's hernia or sports hernia, Gilmore's groin or groin disruption, is a medical condition of the groin affecting athletes....
ruled him out of action for five months from November of that season, during which Claridge was replaced by Graham Rix
Graham Rix
Graham Cyril Rix is an English former football player and coach. He was fired by Heart of Midlothian in March 2006, which was his most recent role in professional football...
, this was after Primus formed a partnership with Jamaican international Darren Moore. After a defeat to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
(which Primus described as the "lowest point of [his] career"), Portsmouth needed a victory over Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
to stay in Division One and they duly won 3–0 with Huddersfield being relegated after their final day defeat. After the conclusion of the season, Primus fell out with Rix as he was unsure about whether Rix thought he had a future at the club.
The next season started with the death of goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan
Aaron Flahavan
Aaron Adam Flahavan was an English football goalkeeper who played for Portsmouth.- Life and career :Flahavan played for the Southampton youth team before turning professional with Portsmouth at age 18 in 1994...
and the departure of Primus' close friend Moore to West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
. Primus struggled to get a game under Rix but the appointment of Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
in March 2002 gave him a new lease of life and he ended that season with two league goals in games against Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
and Barnsley.
Despite originally being told by Redknapp he was not of Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
standard, let alone suitable for the Premier League, Primus proved his manager wrong by seizing his chance when other players missed out through injury and suspension. By the end of the 2002–03 season
2002-03 in English football
The 2002-03 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.-Most Memorable rise:*Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.-Most Memorable...
he had become a vital member of the side that won the Division One title, winning the Portsmouth fans' player of the season as well as the PFA
Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....
accolade for Division One. He scored once that season for Portsmouth in the League Cup against Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
. Primus credits his renaissance to his conversion to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
after a friend of his wife's invited him to church.
Dejan Stefanovic
Dejan Stefanović , Dejan Stefanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Стефановић), Dejan Stefanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Стефановић), (born October 28, 1974 in Vranjein Serbia, is a Serbian football player who plays for Conference South side Havant & Waterlooville He is a central defender who can also...
with Arjan de Zeeuw
Arjan de Zeeuw
Adrianus "Arjan" de Zeeuw is a retired Dutch footballer, who played as a centre-back.-Club career:...
. During December, Portsmouth were in a terrible run of form and Redknapp decided to bring one of his most reliable players back into his plans for the derby match with Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
. In spite of a 3–0 loss, Primus retained his starting place for the remainder of the season.
The following season saw Primus remain a regular member of the Portsmouth team under first Redknapp and then both his successors, Velimir Zajec
Velimir Zajec
Velimir Zajec is a former Croatian footballer and manager.-Career:Zajec began his career at Dinamo Zagreb in 1974, aged 18. During 10 years at the club, he helped them to two domestic cup wins, as well as the league title, their first title honour in 24 years...
and Alain Perrin. He scored his first Premier League goal at Crystal Palace on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
2004. He scored again on Boxing Day in 2006, when grabbing two headed goals against West Ham United.
Although Primus was a regular member of Perrin's team at the end of the 2004–05 season
FA Premier League 2004-05
The 2004–05 season of the FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season....
and captained the side on occasions during pre-season, he rarely featured until Perrin's sacking in November. The return of Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
, who had been won over by his performances and was now one of his biggest admirers, to Portsmouth lead to Primus' immediate return to the side, and he was ever present in the side that achieved Premiership survival in the last 10 games of the season. Primus remained a regular in the Portsmouth defence for the 2006–07 season, partnering England international Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
in the centre of defence, and Redknapp hailed him as the unofficial Player of the Season; the official winner of the award was David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
. He failed to make an appearance in 2007–08 due to a career threatening knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
injury. He was treated with surgery performed by Dr. Richard Steadman
Richard Steadman
J. Richard Steadman, M.D. is a specialist knee surgeon, practising in Vail, Colorado and a Clinical Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He is best known medically for his work in the area of microfracture surgery, and publicly for treating injured...
who is known to have saved the careers of many Premiership footballers, including Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
and Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
. After the operation, Primus commented "The difference between success and failure is what you do afterwards in your rehabilitation, not necessarily the actual operation." Despite his injury, he still managed to earn a new one-year deal at Portsmouth in May 2008.
Charlton Athletic loan and Portsmouth return
In August 2008, Primus returned to Charlton AthleticCharlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
on a loan deal, however the deal almost collapsed as negotiations broke down between Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
and Charlton manager Alan Pardew. Pardew wanted the centre half for the whole of the 2008–09 season
2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...
, but Redknapp was only happy to loan him out until Christmas of 2008 in order to gain match fitness, and it appeared the deal would be called off by Portsmouth. Finally Charlton agreed to the terms and Primus move to the Valley on a three month loan days before the transfer window closed. He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 5–2 home defeat to Sheffield United. The result ultimately led to the sacking of manager Alan Pardew. He played 10 matches for the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
(new name for Division One) club before returning to Portsmouth for the rest of the 2008–09 season. He was due to play in a crucial match against Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
, however the match was postponed by Sky
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
until after the expiration of his loan; much to the anger of Charlton. Primus' loan had to be rearranged and a deal was agreed by both clubs for the loan to expire after the match against Derby.
After a near two year absence, Primus made a comeback to the Portsmouth first team on 18 May 2009, the penultimate game of the 2008–09 season, as a late substitute appearance against Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
at Fratton Park. He received a standing ovation from the home crowd and was cheered each time he touched the ball.
Primus signed a one-year extension to his contract with Portsmouth in July 2009. Primus also agreed to take on an ambassadorial and advisory role to help guide emerging talent at Portsmouth, as well as a playing role. On 8 December 2009, Primus announced his retirement due to a knee injury. Portsmouth's chief executive Peter Storrie
Peter Storrie
Peter Storrie was a Director and the Chief Executive Officer of English Premier League team Portsmouth. He had formerly worked for West Ham United, Southend United and Notts County.-West Ham United:...
confirmed that Primus would retain his ambassadorial role.
Following his testimonial
Testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....
on 31 July 2010, Portsmouth announced that the Milton End Stand at Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...
would be renamed the 'Linvoy Primus Community Stand' because of his outstanding services to the club.
Personal life
At the age of 17, Primus met future wife Trish through a mutual friend. After 18 months of the relationship, they decided to have a child which Primus' parents strongly disapproved of. The footballer himself said in his autobiography, "Up until then I had been the model son and had brought no trouble to their door, but now they were upset at what they saw as my rebellion". On November 1993, their first son Nathan was born. They also have a daughter called Atlanta, born in April 1997. Primus and Trish married on 9 June 1999. Their third child and second son, Cameron, was born in 2002.In 2007, he released his autobiography, "Transformed", which was co-written by Peter Jeffs. The book received generally positive reviews: Christianity Magazine
Christianity Magazine
Christianity Magazine is an evangelical Christian magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom by Christian Communications Partnership Ltd....
said the book was a "disarmingly honest account of Primus’s triumphs and struggles on and off the pitch" while FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo is a football magazine published by Haymarket. Published monthly, costing £4.50, and at about 164 pages long, it published its 200th edition in February 2011...
described it as "an antidote to the 'me-me-me' tales that weigh down the shelves" but rival football magazine When Saturday Comes
When Saturday Comes
When Saturday Comes is a monthly magazine about football, first published in London in 1986. "It aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering all the topics that fans are likely to talk about, whether serious or...
was more critical, pointing out its "sometimes ungrammatical and often ponderous style" and going on to say "[the] book is also full of cliches".
Charitable and Christian work
Trish suffered from depressionDepression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
and was introduced to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
by stable owners, Keith and Sam, who invited the Primus family to join them at church on a Sunday. Initially, Primus was reluctant but Trish convinced him to accept and Primus remarked that it was a case of "well church is the last place we'd go, but why not?" The church was more "laid-back" in comparison to the one that Primus attended as a child and he, along with the rest of his family, became regular churchgoers in 2001. Trish's depression was lifted and Primus converted to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. It has been called the foundational experience of Christian life...
later that year, "In my heart I felt whole and complete, and I wanted to read the Bible at every opportunity." According to his autobiography, Primus is able to speak in tongues
Glossolalia
Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...
.
Primus, along with Darren Moore, former footballer Mick Mellows
Mick Mellows
Michael Anthony "Mick" Mellows is a former England Amateur International footballer, who later played professionally for Reading and Portsmouth. Born in Woking, Mellows played firstly for Sutton United before going to train as a teacher at King Alfred College, Winchester...
,and Portsmouth FC star Joel Ward is involved with the Christian charity 'Faith and Football, and walked the Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
in summer 2005 to raise £100,000 for Prospect Children’s School in Ibaden, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and a new medical centre, school and orphanage for a village in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. He was also involved in supporting the Alpha Course
Alpha course
The Alpha course is a course which seeks to explore the basics of the Christian faith, described as "an opportunity to explore the meaning of life" . Alpha courses are currently being run in churches, homes, workplaces, prisons, universities and a wide variety of other locations...
, which is run all over the world, and are designed to explain Christian beliefs and promote discussion. Primus appeared in a cinema advertisement for the movement, alongside the comedian Lennie Bennett
Lennie Bennett
Lennie Bennett was an English comedian and game show host.After attending the Palatine Secondary School in Blackpool, Bennett became a journalist for the West Lancashire Evening Gazette before becoming a professional entertainer and appearing on The Good Old Days in 1979. Bennett starred in the...
. At his former club Portsmouth, he founded a prayer group which has included many Premiership footballers such as Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu, OON , or simply Kanu, is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Portsmouth. He was also a member of the Nigerian national team for 16 years from 1994 until 2010...
, Sean Davis and Benjani
Benjani Mwaruwari
Benjamin Mwaruwari , known as Benjani, is a Zimbabwean footballer who currently plays for Portsmouth in the Football League Championship, where he plays as a striker....
. In December 2006, he took part in a Football Focus
Football Focus
Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...
feature on faith in the game presented by fellow Christian footballer Gavin Peacock
Gavin Peacock
Gavin Keith Peacock is a former English professional football player who played primarily in midfield but often as a striker...
.
Career statistics
|-|1992–93
The Football League 1992-93
The 1992–1993 season was the 93rd completed season of the The Football League.-Overview:This season saw the birth of the FA Premier League. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions....
||rowspan="2"|Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
||rowspan="2"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||4||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0
|-
|1993–94
The Football League 1993-94
The 1993–1994 season was the 94th completed season of the The Football League. From 1993 to 1996 the league was sponsores by Endsleigh.-Football League Division One:...
||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-
|-
|1994–95
The Football League 1994-95
The 1994–1995 season was the 95th completed season of the The Football League. It was the third season of The Football League since the formation of the Premier League...
||rowspan="3"|Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
||rowspan="3"|Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
||39||0||2||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||45||0
|-
|1995–96
The Football League 1995-96
The 1995–1996 season was the 96th completed season of the The Football League. It was contested through three divisions, the First Division, Second Division and Third Division.- First Division playoffs :- First Division Table:...
||42||4||2||1||4||0||colspan="2"|-||48||5
|-
|1996–97
The Football League 1996-97
The 1996–1997 season was the 97th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Bolton Wanderers returned to the Premiership in superb fashion, hitting 100 goals and taking 98 points...
||46||3||1||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||51||3
|-
|1997–98
The Football League 1997-98
The 1997–1998 season was the 98th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Champions Nottingham Forest and runners-up Middlesbrough won promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking. Charlton Athletic won the playoffs to end an eight-year absence from the top...
||rowspan="3"|Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||35||1||1||0||6||0||colspan="2"|-||42||1
|-
|1998–99
The Football League 1998-99
The 1998–1999 season was the 99th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Sunderland were crowned First Division champions with 105 points, then a record, having lost just three games all season, to prove right the many pundits who tipped them for promotion...
||rowspan="2"|Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||31||0||1||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||35||0
|-
|1999–2000
The Football League 1999-2000
The 1999–2000 season was the 100th completed season of the The Football League.-Overview:The 1999–2000 season saw the league dispense with the traditional 1–11 numbering of players’ shirts in favour of squad numbers, a system that had been adopted by the Premier League a few seasons before...
||28||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||32||0
|-
|2000–01
The Football League 2000-01
-Overview:The 2000–2001 season was the 101st completed season of the The Football League.- First Division playoffs :-First Division :...
||rowspan="9"|Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
||rowspan="3"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||23||0||colspan="2"|-||3||0||colspan="2"|-||26||0
|-
|2001–02
The Football League 2001-02
-Overview:The 2001–2002 season was the 102nd completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables and results :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website, with home and away statistics separated...
||22||2||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||23||2
|-
|2002–03
The Football League 2002-03
The 2002–2003 season was the 103rd completed season of The Football League.-Football League First Division:Portsmouth won the First Division by some distance, passing manager Harry Redknapp’s old club, West Ham on the way down. Leicester City earned a somewhat controversial promotion, as...
||40||0||1||0||2||1||colspan="2"|-||43||1
|-
|2003–04
FA Premier League 2003-04
The 2003–04 FA Premier League season was the twelfth season of the Premier League. In the end, Arsenal went through the season without a single defeat – only the second ever team to do so and were crowned champions once more, at the expense of Chelsea, who had spent heavily throughout the...
||rowspan="6"|Premier League||21||0||4||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||26||0
|-
|2004–05
FA Premier League 2004-05
The 2004–05 season of the FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season....
||35||1||2||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||40||1
|-
|2005–06
FA Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 season of the FA Premier League began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April...
||20||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||21||0
|-
|2006–07
FA Premier League 2006-07
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the fifteenth season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007....
||36||2||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||39||2
|-
|2007–08||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-
|-
|2008–09||1||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0
|-
|2008–09
The Football League 2008-09
The Football League 2008–09, titled the Coca-Cola Football League, was the 109th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2008 and concluded in May 2009, with the promotion play-off finals....
||rowspan="1"|Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
||rowspan="1"|Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||10||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||10||1
|-
432||14||22||1||32||1||colspan="2"|-||486||16
432||14||22||1||32||1||colspan="2"|-||486||16